By sounding fire sirens at 3.25 pm on Monday, firefighters across Croatia will commemorate the 14th anniversary of a 2007 tragedy in which 12 firefighters were killed while trying to put out a wildfire on Kornat island.

Under an order issued by chief firefighting commander Slavko Tucakovic, all members of public and volunteer firefighting units will line up today, light candles in memory of the fallen firefighters and read out their names.

The 12 firefighters, members of the public firefighting unit from Sibenik and volunteer firefighting units from Vodice and Tisno, were killed on Veliki Kornat island while trying to put out a wildfire on 30 August 2007. Some of them died on the scene, while some, who were severely burned in the accident, later died in hospitals in Zagreb and Split. Their colleague Frane Lucic was the only one to survive.

The head of the Public Firefighting Unit in Sibenik, Drazen Slavica, was tried for the tragedy and was acquitted twice.

Croatia’s Supreme Court in January this year upheld the Zagreb County Court’s acquittal in the case, noting that the court was right to conclude that Slavica was not responsible for the actions or omissions of persons who should have acted in accordance with their powers under the law and that he did not have the authority to lead the fire operation that also involved aviation.

There are several theories about the cause of the accident, including a fuel leak from a helicopter and an explosion of leftover NATO bombs. The official theory is that the accident was caused by a phenomenon known as eruptive fire.

However, the families of the firefighters killed and some sections of the public think that the real truth about the cause of the accident is being concealed.